Hold Me For A While
by bookaddict1028
Summary: In which Annabeth wakes from a nightmare and Percy comforts her. (All characters belong to Rick Riordan).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a quick one-shot i wrote last night at like two-thirty AM. Forgive me if it's confusing - I was a little tired. R &R! Hope you like it!**

* * *

" _Percy?" Annabeth called. "Where are you? Why did you leave me?"_

 _Her vision was blank, black, technically nonexistent. She had a feeling that this is what it felt like to be blind. It didn't feel like closing your eyes at all, because she could still blink. It was just that after she blinked, the world didn't come into focus like it normally would. There was just nothing._

" _Percy!" She called again, feeling the hot tears spill onto her cheeks._

" _Annabeth I'm right here!"_

 _It was Percy's voice – she was certain of that. But it sounded distant and muted; like he was speaking into a pillow. He called to her again, this time sounding like he was right next to her. She could feel the heat of him on her arm, but when she reached out to grab him, it was as if he had been pulled away from her._

 _He had promised her. He had sworn to her that he would never leave her side again and what does he do? He leaves her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as realization set in. her heart felt like a chunk of brick. Her breaths were heavy, the Tartarus air weighing down her lungs._

 _Percy had once been told that his fatal flaw was loyalty. But he must've lied to her about that because he left her. He wasn't being loyal to her. He lied. The fact that this had to be true – because there was no other option available to her at this point – burned her throat worse than the Plethleghon had._

 _A high-pitched scream pierced the silence. Annabeth tried to look around the find the culprit of the noise, but she was blind; she couldn't see. She couldn't see. Her throat was raw. Was it her screaming? She didn't think so. But she couldn't see. Percy had left her. She could feel panic starting to set in. Percy had left her and she couldn't see. She would die. She was alone. She was alone and she would die._

* * *

"Annabeth!" She felt someone shaking her awake – a strong, calloused, warm hand on her shoulder, gently moving her. "Annabeth, baby, it's okay. It's just a dream. C'mere, sweetheart, you're fine. It's just a dream."

Annabeth sat up, gasping for the cool air of the cabin. It was summer, but nights never got to be above fifty degrees in Cabin three. It was just icy enough for it to be comfortable to snuggle, which is exactly what Annabeth needed at the moment.

She clutched the silk sheets in her fists, her eyes shooting around the room. It was dark, and she could hardly see. She let out a strangled sob – she had been blind, so blind. But the darkness in the cabin was different. It was reassuring to be able to see the outline of the ceiling, but scary to not be able to see to the door. Annabeth felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulders.

She turned her head into the crook of Percy's neck, his pulse thumping loudly under her cheek. Percy stroked her hair down her back, twisting her curls around his fingers in a calming and constant motion.

"Shh, baby it's okay," he chanted in her ear. His breath was hot on her neck and it warmed her insides. "I'm right here. You're okay. It was just a dream."

Somehow, Percy knew exactly the right things to say and exactly the right way to hold her after one of her reoccurring nightmares. And somehow she knew the same for him. Neither of them questioned it. It just was.

Annabeth hadn't realized she'd been crying – rather loudly I might add – until she pulled away from Percy to see that his shirt was now soaked. She took a shaky breath, chewing her lip.

Percy tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her jawbone for an extra second.

"What was it this time?" he asked curiously.

Annabeth gripped at his soft hand in reply. She looked up at him, her eyes glittering with tears in the corners.

That one look told Percy everything he needed to know. He pulled Annabeth back towards his chest and let out a sigh.

"Annabeth," he whispered.

Annabeth wound her arms around Percy's neck and hitched her fingers into his shirt searching for something to hold on to. She knew Percy didn't mind, as her clutched her with the same desperate sadness that threatened to eat the both of them from the inside out.

The first night back from Tartarus had been the worst – hands down. Neither of them had thought it would be quite as horrible as it had turned out to be. They thought they could sleep alone. They thought they would be fine.

Once the screaming started though, nothing except for the sight of the other person could calm them.

All the fear that both of them had been carrying around – fear of the other one dying; or dying themselves; or even just getting lost without the other – had gone almost unnoticed until then. Annabeth remembered Piper rushing into her bunk that night, trying anything and everything to get her to stop crying out for Percy. The other girl had held Annabeth tightly, but she hadn't stopped sobbing until Percy's face had timidly peaked through the crack in the door.

Every night since then had been spent together. And nobody at camp rejected that.

The Athena kids had practically pushed her out the door the first time she'd tried staying the night by herself. "Go to Percy," Malcolm had told her.

Chiron needed no extra convincing either. Percy and Annabeth both saw the pain in his eyes every time he looked at them. They knew he was hurting for them. They also knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

"I love you," Percy reminded Annabeth for probably the twentieth time that day. Annabeth let herself smile.

Percy never missed a chance to tell her he loved her. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that things could've turned out so much worse for them, and he would've never gotten the chance to say it, or if he really thought Annabeth needed reminding that made him do it. Either way, Annabeth didn't mind hearing him say it multiple times a day at all. It was nice to be reminded of something she already knew.

And how could she not know? Even If Percy wasn't reminding her what seemed like every five minutes. She had known it when he had traveled across the country looking for her after she'd been kidnapped by the titan, Atlas, She had known it when he had ran to her side after she was injured in the titan war. She had known it when he had willingly fallen into Tartraus with her. She had known it even before he had told her that day in the Parthenon. But it was nice to hear it.

"I love you," Annabeth choked out in response.

After her nightmares, it always took a bit of effort before she could find her voice again. But once she did, Percy made sure to talk to her into the late hours of the night – about anything – just to get her mind off of the dream.

Percy pulled her with him as he settled back into bed. He held her against his chest; she could feel his steady heartbeat vibrating through his chest. She rested her hand right over his left pectoral muscle. The consistency of it always calmed her down.

Percy's arm was wrapped around her shoulders, her head drawn up against his neck. She felt his lips brush over her forehead – a flutter of a kiss. He made soothing circles on her shoulder with his thumb. Her breathing slowed.

The cool air of the cabin enveloped them, and Annabeth found herself pulling the thin sheets up around her – despite the fact that Percy's body heat was nearly enough.

"What am I going to wear for graduation?" Percy asked suddenly.

Annabeth found it an odd, and rather random question, but she assumed it was just him trying to distract her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Percy sighed, his breath moving her hair. "I haven't been home in so long, most of my clothes don't even fit me. I'm sure I don't have an actual pair of dress slacks to wear."

"What about a button-up shirt? You wore one on our first date," Annabeth pointed out.

"You remember what I wore?"

"Of course I do. It was an important night."

"Enlighten me," Percy said. "'Cause I don't remember any button-up shirt."

"It was blue," Annabeth said, which resulted in a soft, "Of course" cough from Percy. "Your mom told me that she'd had it dry-cleaned just for the date. It had been pressed and ironed too. And it smelled really good – although that was probably you."

"Now that you mention it . . ." Percy said. "I do remember that. But I'm not sure I can still wear it."

Annabeth considered her next words for a minute.

"I'm sure one of the Aphrodite campers would take you shopping if you asked," she suggested.

"Eh," Percy sounded unenthusiastic.

"It's a while away anyways," Annabeth smiled into Percy's damp shirt.

"Besides, you still have your Sophomore and Junior year to finish."

"Ugh," Percy groaned. "Hera really messed up my education."

"It's fine," Annabeth told him. "I can tutor you."

"Will you?"

"You sound excited," Annabeth noticed.

"It's an excuse for you to come over; of course I'm excited."

Annabeth smiled into Percy's shirt, letting herself breathe in the scent of him.

"Do you want to try and sleep again?" he asked. His hand slid across her back, up and down.

Annabeth could tell Percy was tired by the way he spoke. And not just physically. He was mentally tired. They both were. They just needed to rest.

"Just hold me for a while," Annabeth murmured, not really sure.

Percy tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer to him. She settled into his side.

She was afraid to close her eyes still. She was afraid that once they were shut they would never open again. It was a fear she experienced every night.

But she knew as long as Percy was by her side, she would always wake up safe. And that was enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! So . . . after the first chapter of this story was posted, I got a request to write one from Percy's POV. Of course I obliged! So, without further ado, Percy's turn!  
**

* * *

 _He was shivering, but it wasn't from the cold. The sobs that racked his body threatened to crush him; he gripped at the hard ground._

 _He was only vaguely aware of the voices shouting at him from above. They were telling him that he had to go; the cavern was going to collapse in on itself at any second and they would all fall into the abyss. But Percy didn't care. He didn't care if he fell into Tartarus. Because that's where Annabeth had fallen only moments before._

 _He had tried to catch her. He had tried to jump in after her. But Frank and Nico had made it to him fast enough. They were struggling against his strength to hold him back – barely._

 _Percy grunted in exhaustion, crying out for Annabeth. Her name echoed on the walls, spiraling down the pit, following her._

 _All he could think about was the fact that he had promised her. He had promised her that they would never be apart again; that they would never be separated; that he would never leave her side. And yet, here he was. Grasping for her after he had just broken the most important promise he had ever made. He was finding it hard to breathe._

 _He wasn't aware of the fact that he was screaming until his voice gave out. His throat was raw, but the hot tears that fell from his eyes and rolled into his mouth soothed the burning. He croaked out her name again before collapsing into the arms of Frank._

 _He fought them still as Frank and Jason tried to airlift him towards the_ Argo II _. He slashed and punched and jabbed with his elbows, trying to forced them to let him go. Once they gave up and let him fall back to the floor, he crawled to the edge of the pit – looking into the utter emptiness._

 _Without a second thought, he jumped._

He jolted awake, panting hard. The dream had felt like falling – which he supposed was exactly what had happened – and he woke up needing to find some sort of stability. As his mind cleared, the dream came back to him. Annabeth. Where was she?

It took him less than a second to find her – as she was already sitting up next to him in bed. She wasn't speaking, only taking his face in her hands and bringing him into a hug.

For years, this had been routine. Almost every night, one – sometimes both – of them woke up from a nightmare, usually one about losing the other. For Percy, it was almost always the same - not catching her in time. Or sometimes it was worse. But those nights he preferred not to think about.

Annabeth's thin arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her mouth brushed soothingly over his neck; it helped him get his mind off of the dream. Instead he focused on her shaky breath against his skin.

In the four years since the Giant War, the nightmares hadn't managed to become any less frightening. It was almost like a curse, a punishment from the Earth Goddess herself. Like, _you beat me, I'll break you._

But Percy and Annabeth were both too strong to let Gaea do that to them – even if it wasn't directly from her; which Percy assumed was the case. The nightmares were more of a bonus for her; something she hadn't counted on, but was now probably more than ecstatic over them.

Annabeth was usually the only thing that could calm Percy down after one of his nightmares – since most of them revolved around her. There had been one time when Annabeth hadn't been there though, and he had to make do with his mother rubbing his back and telling him that Annabeth was fine.

The day after the traumatic experience, Percy had driven himself straight to Camp where, upon arrival, he hadn't let Annabeth out of his embrace for a full ten minutes – not that she minded.

Luckily for him, there were no longer any nights he was forced to spend without her. Since they were twenty-one now, living together in New Rome, there was no reason either of them would have to face the dark alone. Consistency was nice, for a change.

"What if that had been real?" Percy whispered into Annabeth's hair.

His words were muted, as her hair was thick and curly and tangled in his fingers. But he knew she heard him. She always heard him.

"It wasn't," she said.

"But what if it was?" Percy insisted, searching for an answer.

What ifs floated through Percy's head constantly – always when he had nothing to busy himself with. What if he hadn't caught her in time? What if they hadn't made it out alive? What if, what if, what if. They tortured him. They bit at his heart. They made it had to imagine a future. They made it hard to breathe.

But Annabeth made it better, most of the time. He didn't need her help to breathe, but when she was around, it was always a little easier to take a deep breath. He thought that's what love was; not being dependent, but appreciating how much better and/or easier the other person made life.

"What if I hadn't caught you in time?"

"But you did," Annabeth said again, refusing to let him pull out of her grasp to look at her. "Isn't that what matters?"

Percy ignored her. He wanted a real answer. What would she have done – what would he have done, if she had fallen from his fingers, alone, into the pit.

"You would've found a way to meet me at the bottom."

Percy could hear the smirk in her voice. He knew she was right. She knew she was right. He would've done everything in his power to get to her – even if it meant risking his own life – without a second thought. His subconscious had told him that in his dream. Even after Frank and Jason had held him back, he had still jumped in after her. It wasn't even a question.

"That's why your fatal flaw is loyalty," Annabeth continued. "You sacrificed yourself just to make sure I was okay. I'll never be able to repay you-"

"Stop it," Percy pulled away from her arms.

He didn't want to hear about how she would never be able to repay him for risking himself again. She said that so much she was starting to remind him of a broken record. He didn't need to be repaid. And Annabeth knew it. He thought it just made her feel better abut everything.

"I fell with you and I would do it a million times over again if I had to. The alternative wasn't an option. I don't need to be repaid."

He held her face in his hands as he said this. He could feel her cheeks warm under his palms.

"Right there," she whispered. "that's why you need to stop dwelling on what could've happened. Because what could've happened didn't – you wouldn't have let it. You just proved me right."

Percy mock groaned as he leaned towards her a little. "I hate it when you're right."

Annabeth chuckled and rested her forehead against his. He closed his eyes at her touch. Her breath was steady and warm on his face, and he leaned forward to press his mouth to hers.

She responded to his lips, kissing him back. Their kisses were like conversations; unspoken words that both of them needn't be reminded of – but it was nice all the same.

"I love you," Percy murmured when Annabeth finally pulled away.

He didn't know why (or maybe he did and just didn't want to admit it) but he had a not-so-bad-habit of telling Annabeth those same three words upwards to twenty times a day. He had a suspicion that it was because there was always a good chance he would forget to say it one day and then Annabeth would fail to come home – leaving him filled with regret.

Plus, he never wanted her to doubt it. He never wanted her to wonder if he loved her, because he did.

"I love you too," Annabeth smiled against his mouth.

Eventually they fell back to sleep; only finding the strength to close their eyes in each other. And when the dreams came again, they just held on tighter. Because nothing – nothing – was more important than the other.

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 **A/N: There you are! I hope everyone enjoyed it! R &R!  
**

 **\- Kenzie**


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